What the hell took so long? I almost want to give this less than an A because it should have been done either last year or much earlier this offseason. It is a major hit to team morale when it takes the franchise quarterback this long to get paid. It makes the rest of the locker room question whether their front office has their best interests in mind and for a Saints team already taking morale and chemistry hits after BountyGate, that’s a very bad thing.

However, it would have been impossible for the Saints to overpay Drew Brees. There really isn’t a value on a franchise quarterback like him. There’s a reason that when a guy like Peyton Manning hits the open market, half the league is in on him even though he’s 36, missed all of last season, and is coming off of 4 neck surgeries. The Titans even offered him a contract worth 25 million dollars per year. Think of what Brees could have gotten on the open market.

The Saints now have their leader locked down for 5 years at a total of 100 million with 60 million guaranteed. They’ll have him there in Training Camp, which means this team should once again be considered the favorites in a division they won by 3 games last year, and they’ll remain contenders for years to come. Quarterbacks have a much longer shelf life than most positions so Brees should be able to, barring major injury, play at a high level through his age 37 season, the final year of his contract in 2016.

Grade: A

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